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Literature Review

In Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck (2006) describes two
mindsets: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. The fixed mindset believes that we are
given an ability to learn just so much and no more than that. A growth mindset believes that with
effort, there is no limit to what one can learn. Figure 1 shows an overview of the two mindsets.


Figure 1. Growth mindset graphic from Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006).

The Mindsets in Action
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Making Mistakes

Imagine the first time you rode a bike. You probably didnt hop on and cruise down the
street. Theres even a good chance you fell, scraped an elbow, cried, and then tried again.
Mistakes are an expected part of learning, but for many students they are seen as embarrassing
or unacceptable. This response to mistakes is the fixed mindset. Students, instead, should see
failure as a step in the process of learning. Making mistakes, feeling confused, doubting
ourselvesthese are uncomfortable feelings, but its those feelings that push us to ask
questions, inquire deeper and learn (Miller, 2013).
When someone with the fixed mindset is not successful, they believe its because they
dont have the capacity to and they never will. Therefore, they may blame failures on bad
teachers or faulty equipment (in terms of sports). Placing the blame outside themselves allows
them to maintain their perfection. Nothing is harder than saying, 'I gave it my all and it wasn't
good enough' (Dweck, 2006, p. 42). The excessive concern with looking smart may keep
people with a fixed mindset from making bold visionary moves. If you're afraid of making
mistakes, you'll never learn on the job, and your whole approach becomes defensive: 'I have to
make sure I don't screw up (Krakovsky, 2007).
On the other side, students with a growth mindset know that there will be bumps along
the way, but learning from mistakes is part of the joy in achieving the goal. The difference in
perspective allows people to love what they're doing--and to continue to love it in the face of
difficulties (Dweck, 2006, p. 48).
When mistakes are made, the brain activates differently for each mindset. When
someone with a fixed mindset is told about a mistake, the brain activates only in that moment
when they are told the answer was incorrect. A growth mindset brain becomes extremely active
when a mistake is made because they are looking for where they went wrong and what they can
do differently the next time, leading to better learning.
To make mistakes and the feelings associated with learning okay for students we need
to make them visible. Teachers can model the confusion that comes with learning and ask
questions about the struggle students go through to solve problems. Normalizing this process
will help students see the expectation that learning is a hard journey, but that with continued
effort we can reach goals (Miller, 2013).

Taking on Challenges

Someone with a fixed mindset is less willing to take on challenges because there is a
greater threat of failure. A fixed mindset student may simply choose not to do something they
find challenging because they would rather be labeled as lazy than stupid. Or, they may simply
loose interest when something becomes difficult. A growth mindset student embraces
challenges. Not only do they take on challenges, but they thrive on them. Whereas a fixed
mindset student will thrive when things are within their comfort zone.
People with a growth mindset enjoy problem solving and engaging in tasks that
challenge their thinking. If teachers provide challenging problems that have more than one
strategy to solve them, there would be less right and wrong answers. If students are not seeing
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learning as right or wrong, but instead as a process for achieving understanding, then they will
be able to strengthen their growth mindsets.

Success of Others

If a student peeks across the table and sees another students work that they believe is
successful they will most likely have one of two reactions. They will either say to themselves,
Hey, I can do that too, and increase their own efforts (a growth mindset) or they may say, I
could never do that, I give up, (a fixed mindset). Some may even try to tear down the work of
others to feel better about their own.
In a school community that emphasizes social-emotional learning, like Explorer, the idea
of students degrading anothers work to feel better about their own is saddening. Students
should be working as teams to build each other up and feel motivated by others success.

Mindsets in Math

The fixed mindset is especially prevalent in mathematics. Clare Lee in her article Fixed
or Growth--Does it Matter? wrote about several possible explanations for this (2009). The first
was that mathematics seems to many people to be either right or wrong. If a student only
hears an answer to a math problem from another student, the process for getting that correct
answer may remain a mystery. Some students may believe that the smart students got the
answers simply by luck of natural math ability. By emphasizing the process for solving a
problem, teachers can unveil some of the mystery for fixed mindset students.
Another element that may reinforce the fixed mindset in math is grades. Students
exhibiting a fixed mindset focus on successes and failures more than those with a growth
mindset. Traditionally, math is graded for correct or incorrect answers with a big, red grade on
the top, which is all students in the fixed mindset will see. Whereas the growth mindset student
would analyze the wrong answers and discover how they could improve their abilities.

People Can Have More than One Mindset

Although Ive described the two mindsets as independent, a person can have both
mindsets. For example, someone may believe that they can learn to play the piano with practice
and at the same time believe that they will never be a successful cook. The degree to which
someone possesses each mindset is on a spectrum rather than just black or white.
You may be thinking, there are some people who are naturally better at things. Yes,
thats true. One person might pick up a basketball and be making three-pointers much quicker
than someone else, but they can both get there. The issue arises when the person who had to
work harder to make a three-pointer diminishes his abilities simply because it took him longer to
make the three-pointer. But a three-pointer is still a three-pointer, even if it took longer to make it
(Krakovsky, 2007).

Growth Mindset and Grit

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Grit, as defined by Angela Duckworth in a TEDTalk is passion and perseverance for very long-
term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for
the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a
reality (2013). Grit is the piece of growth mindset that persists in the face of obstacles and puts
in the effort to achieve success. In order to have grit, the growth mindset must come first. If
someone does not believe they will succeed with hard work (the growth mindset), then he or
she will not put in the effort and time to make it (grit).

An Education Revelation or Just the Latest Fad?

Growth mindset and grit have received a lot of press and become buzzwords in the
world of education. Are these ideas just a flash in the pan or do they have lasting impact on the
world of education? Alfie Kohn has a lot to say about the potential drawbacks of grit, which is
closely related to growth mindset. In The Myth of the Spoiled Child (2014) he describes grit as
another iteration of the old saying: If at first you dont succeed, try, try again.
The problem, Kohn says, goes beyond that its not a fresh idea, but that it encourages
students to simply persist whatever the task, rather than looking to passion and creativity. Kohn
said, What matters isnt just how long one persists, but why one does so. Proponents of grit
rarely ask: Do kids love what they're doing? Or are they driven by a desperate (and anxiety-
provoking) need to prove their competence? As long as they're pushing themselves, were
encouraged to nod our approval (2014). I agree with Kohn. Students should be asking why
constantly, and I think that the growth mindset allows for students to do that. The growth
mindset does not say, put your head down and get to work. Instead, the growth mindset
encourages students to dream, set goals, determine a path to get there, then work hard to do it.
Where I believe Kohns message about the why is important is in looking at the
education teachers are providing students. Students can dream and set goals on their own, but
every day they are in school being told what those goals are despite where their passions lay.
Educators need to do more than tell students to persist in their work; educators need to make
the work meaningful so that students want to persist and can see the long-term outcome of their
persistence.

Our Brains

Our brains are made up of billions of brain cells called neurons. When these neurons
fire, an electrical signal is sent through the dendrites where it must leap across a synapse to the
axons of another neuron. These neural pathways have the ability to change and grow.
Although the brain was once seen as a rather static organ, it is now clear that the organization
of brain circuitry is constantly changing as a functions of experience. These changes are
referred to as brain plasticity (Kolb, Gibb & Robinson, 2003, p. 1).
The plasticity of the brain should be taught explicitly to students. Judy Willis wrote, I
found that when students know about how their brains learn they are motivated to take action.
Especially when students feel they are not smart and nothing they do can change that, the
realization that they can literally change their brains through study and review strategies is
empowering (2009). Educating students about how their brain works and how they can take
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care of their brain puts them back in the drivers seat.
Taking care of the brain is similar to taking care of the body. The brain needs nutritional
food, exercise and plenty of sleep. Additionally, for optimal learning, the brain needs to feel calm
and upbeat. When stressful or negative feelings enter the brain, it goes into a fight or flight
mode which shuts down the learning centers. When working with students, teachers and
parents need to maintain an environment that allows the student to stay composed to be able to
take in information.

What Affects Mindsets?

Language

As parents or teachers, we know that what we do and say around our children will have
an affect on them. In The Power of Our Words, Paula Denton shares how our words and tone
can bring out the best in students. What we say to students can deeply affect the sense of who
they are and who they will become (2007).
In Mindset, Carol Dweck shares how children interpret messages differently based on
their mindsets. Consider the following question posed to children: Suppose your parents offer
to help you with your schoolwork. Why would they do this? The fixed mindset child responded
that their parents wanted to see how smart they were at the schoolwork they were working on,
while the growth mindset child believed that their parents intention was to make sure that they
learned as much as they could from the school work (2006, p. 184).
The language we use is especially important in response to successes and failures. If
we are praising students for their abilities, we are reaffirming a fixed mindset, while praising
effort encourages a growth mindset. Parents and teachers may be unintentionally creating a
fixed mindset in children through their words of praise. The association of intelligence and
praise tells students that when they are succeeding it's because they are smart and when they
are failing, it's because they are dumb. By praising the process rather than the outcome,
parents and teachers build a growth mindset.
Even the way parents and teachers ask about work is important. For example saying,
That math problem looks interesting, tell me about how you solved it, encourages the child to
discuss their process. As often happens in a classroom, some students will finish work quickly.
It is essential that teachers do not praise the speed at which work is completed. Challenging
and thoughtful work takes time, if students are praised for their speed in completing work, they
will be less willing to take on more involved work that may take more time and not get praised.
Instead, teachers should refrain from praising the student who finishes first and instead
apologize for giving them work that is too easy and provide them with a more challenging
assignment that they can really learn from the next time.
Dweck tells a story of a child who did not win a medal at her first gymnastics tournament.
How should the parents respond? Dweck says to tell her she didn't deserve to win. Perhaps
more delicately than that, but it's important to recognize that she was in fact, not as dedicated to
or experienced with the sport as the other competitors. If she wanted to continue for fun, that
was fine, but if her goal was to win ribbons, she needed to put in the effort that would achieve
that. So, the parents should tell her the truth, and show her how to learn from her failures and to
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make a plan to succeed in the future (p. 182).
One study looked at how subtle changes in the way feedback is given can affect
motivation. A group of four-year-olds were working on drawings. One group received the
feedback, You are a good drawer, and the other group was told, You did a good job drawing.
The students who were told they were good drawers were much more hurt when something
went wrong with their drawing and less willing to try again. The other group was less emotional
and had better strategies for correcting mistakes. Simply by commenting on the work and
process, rather than the childs abilities, the feedback led to greater motivation (Cimpian, Arce,
Markman, & Dweck, 2007).
Another way language can encourage a growth mindset is the word yet. Students are
often frustrated by new concepts, but they should accept that struggle with the right support.
When a student is feeling challenged, adding the word yet to a message can change the
meaning of a statement. For example, I cant add fractions, becomes, I cant add fractions,
yet. The addition of yet makes the statement hopeful and motivating. The yet shifts the focus
of the message from what a student cannot do to the goal they are in the process of working
towards. Miller had one idea that I am on board with, I propose that educators abolish the
grades of D and F and replace them with NY--Not Yet (2013, p. 51).

Home-School Connection

Parents do want to help their children with schoolwork, but there are barriers to parents
working successfully with their children: a lack of time or knowledge, feeling like they are helping
their children gain independence and responsibility by not being overly involved, or parents not
knowing how to help their children with schoolwork. Teacher communication can change parent
involvement.
In the article Low-Income Parents' Beliefs about Their Role in Children's Academic
Learning Drummond and Stipek (2004) found that parents were more willing to help their
children with reading than math. Many felt restricted by their own math knowledge. Their study
also showed a decline in parent involvement as students progressed in school, which is not
surprising, but support should continue as subject matter becomes more challenging. The study
also showed that not only do students continue to need support as they get older, but the
support needs to be focused on math in the upper grades. Dweck remarks that, Important
achievements require a clear focus, all-out effort, and a bottomless trunk full of strategies. Plus
allies in learning (2006, p. 67). Teachers and parents can be those allies if they have the tools
and knowledge to support students in achieving their goals.

Grades

Many practices common in schools may be unintentionally fostering a fixed mindset.
Grades, for example, are often interpreted as a reflection on how smart a student is. Grades,
instead, should be used to show progress towards learning targets and inform the next steps for
students to accomplish those goals. Additionally, grades are often based on the completion of
assignments rather than the process or mastery of the content (Blackwell, 2012). Grades can be
more reflective of students growth when what is graded also reflects the journey.
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Creating a Culture of Risk Taking

Carol Dweck wrote about creating a culture of risk takers in an article titled, Even
Geniuses Work Hard (2010). In order for students to become more growth mindset oriented,
they need to feel comfortable with taking risks and the potential to make a mistake. She
suggested several ideas to develop this culture including: praising process over result,
emphasizing that fast learning is not always the best type of learning, explicitly teaching the
mindsets, giving students opportunities to share about something that they were not good at,
but are now, and even learning about historical figures who were not considered fast learners,
like Albert Einstein.
Another suggestion is goal setting. Students choose an area that they would like to
improve and set a goal, but not just any goal. The goal should provide a challenge for that
student because, It is crucial that no student be able to coast to success time after time; this
experience can create the fixed-mindset belief that you are smart only if you can succeed
without effort. (Dweck, 2010, p. 3). For example, a student who faces challenges in math may
set a goal to master a new concept and then teach it to someone else.